Remember
by KD-LoseAider
Summary: Desperate to overcome Crash and gain world dominance, Cortex searches through his castle ruins to find a suitable source of power for his newly-built android. He finds a sealed-off room intact, the gate to the 10th Dimension still active within. He's less than eager to explore the realm, but a familiar face who knows the land better than anyone else shows up...wanting revenge.
1. Origins

_FOREWORD: The story's timeline jumps around. I will post the date above every chapter._

* * *

 **Wumpa Islands, Australia**  
 **August 31, 1996**

"Doctor, the specimen is ready for trial."

"Place the subject in the chamber."

"Yes sir."

All he could remember was being picked up by a large, vice-like grip. He didn't squirm because he felt tired. Very tired. When he was put down, a pair of opaque green glass doors was shut. His eyes wandered upward. There was little floor space for him to run around (if he had the energy, that is), but the ceiling was very high. He could see the blurred image of two tall dark figures standing near the chamber.

Lab workers scurried about to and fro, frantically attempting to assure that everything was as need be for the presentation. A man in a suit with broad shoulders had his hands folded behind his back. A cigar was dangling in between his lips. He was staring at the chamber with a bored expression. "Cortex," he spoke in a graveled voice, "what the hell taking so long? I travel all the way out here to this chain of islands, all the way out in Australia, to see your experiments! I have yet to see anything productive."

"Mr. Banks," said the shorter man in an even tone, "I assure you that everything here is under control. We had to make sure everything was perfect to ensure the success. Failed trials are…well, less than pleasing to look at. To ensure the animal's survival during the procedure, we must be certain that they are in suitable health, of pragmatic behavior—"

"I didn't ask for an essay," Banks snapped. "I want to see this 'Anthrian,' as you so call it."

A crooked smile appeared onto the ghastly Doctor Neo Cortex's face. "As you wish. Brio, begin the transformation sequence."

"Yes, D-Dr. Cortex," a bald, timid scientist replied, shuffling to a board of flashing control switches and buttons. Banks held his cigar, drew from it, and exhaled a cloud of smoke.

"Nitrus Brio, correct?" he asked Cortex. "Isn't he your colleague?"

"Indeed he is," Cortex answered, gazing at the chamber. "He's very intelligent, too. Assisted me in discovering how to unlock and alter a subject's—an animal's—DNA, actually. It's a pleasure having him. In fact, the animal we're testing today has samples of his own DNA, for structure." N. Brio heard Cortex praising him, but decided not to mention to their possible sponsor what _really_ occurred in the walls of the once abandoned castle.

"How does it work?" Banks asked, folding his arms. "What do you have to do to them? What do they look like afterwards?"

"Let us find out then, hm? Activate the chamber, Brio."

"Y-yes, sir."

Inside of the chamber, the sleepy bandicoot heard an engine beginning to whir behind him. He looked up again, and saw the ceiling had begun to glow. Suddenly, a beam of light shot down at him, sending intense waves of pain through his body. He shrieked and squealed, writhing in agony as the energy pulsed through him. First, he felt a snap in his arm—which he realized had broken. Then all over, his insides began to twist and turn and break. Surely, surely he would die from this, he knew.

Banks grimaced. "It sounds like you're killing it."

Cortex waved a hand dismissively. "He's alright. He may think so, but what is happening in there at this moment is a miraculous change from one creature to another, one never before seen by anyone from outside the castle. His bones are breaking, growing and reshaping to take a human form. Given that the bandicoot is a fairly small animal, it may take longer than a few of my other subjects have to reach full size. Even after the transformation is complete, he will still be rather short."

"You said he's taking a human form?"

"Precisely. This is where I coined the term 'Anthrian,' as they are anthropomorphic animals, meaning they possess the ability to walk and talk as humans do."

"He'll be able to talk?"

"Indeed, Mr. Banks, but just more than that." Their attention turned to the chamber as the shrieks began to shift in tone and sound, growing deeper and louder…more human. Banks wrinkled his nose in disgust. "This animal is special. We added more than just human DNA to alter his physical traits. I've had amounts of dog genomes interlaced for a sense of loyalty, traces of kangaroo for added strength and agility in his final body size, some wombat to fill in a few gaps, and immeasurable counts of other DNA to tie it all together."

Instantly a hand smacked against the other side of the chamber, from the inside. Banks stumbled backward, very startled. Cortex chuckled. "It…It's got a human hand…"

"I call this machine the Evolvo-Ray. A microwave-like burst of energy is sent into the animal, rapidly duplicating its cells and merging them with the serum we inject beforehand with the multitude of other DNA. It equalizes it throughout the body and the structure is created as we see fit. The process should be complete. Brio, cease the ray."

The chamber shut off, and a loud _thump_ was heard from inside. The doors popped open, and steam poured out, shrouding an orange figure that collapsed onto the floor before them. Two scientists rushed over, and Banks focused on the blob that had emerged from the machine. "Is it alive…?" One of the workers nodded at him, and they both pulled the subject up by the arms. There, he could get a good, horrifying look at the monstrosity Cortex had created. It had a human-like body, but it was covered in fur! And its face was that of an animal! The chest area was a brighter color than the main coat, and stretched from its nose to its groin. "It's naked! It has a d—"

"Yes, yes," Cortex sighed, walking over to examine his newly created trophy. "We figured it most appropriate to fashion his reproductive organs after men, as they share the most similar bodies to us anyway." He snapped his fingers a few times next to its ear. With no response, he sighed. "I assumed he would fall unconscious due to the pain. I'm just relieved he survived. It's not pleasant cleaning up the chamber, I'd imagine." A couple workers agreed with him quietly. "Take him to the infirmary. Check his diagnostics, vaccinate him, the usual. And find sufficient clothing for him as well."

They did as told. Banks put out his cigar and tossed it into a metal bin. "Color me impressed, Cortex. You've basically figured out how to play God in this castle out here! When I leased the property, I never imagined the potential my client had in using it."

"They always underestimate, but I do so enjoy politely presenting my talents," the doctor remarked. Brio clenched his fists and stared hopelessly at them, wishing to be acknowledged by his partner for his equal efforts in building the machine itself. "Now that you know what I can do, how can I earn your favor to further my research? This isn't exactly a cheap operation, I'm sure you understand, and my previous funder has made the decision to, well, cease any sort of contribution to this science."

"You need me to help you pay for this, don't you?" Banks chuckled. "And just why is it you're doing the impossible? Making an entirely new 'race' of creatures, eh?"

Cortex intertwined his fingers behind him as he began walking with the taller man. "Several reasons. First, in the name of science. We know how to clean up after ourselves if need be. Second, these animals can provide the most accurate subjects for medical experimentation. Though it may seem cruel, it would help our race progress ever further. Finally, I desire being able to create stronger, lethal creatures that live to serve, that aid you in your battles. You cannot deny the potential this would have in warfare, do you? Imagine a soldier with the strength of a bear, the speed of a cheetah, the wit of man—and facing against several at once? Truly an idea to behold in fear."

Banks stroked his chin in thought. "I do invest in several departments of military affairs. The United States would love to get their hands on soldiers like you describe."

"As would any government," Cortex commented. "Of course, these creatures are not ready for the eyes of the world. You wouldn't believe how much of a nuisance animal rights activists are. Many would come to question the ethics of my work, ethics of which people should look past."

"You can't argue though that if they think like people, making them do whatever you want seems kinda like slavery," Banks sighed.

"But, with the right genetic engineering, these Anthrians should live to serve us without question. That is why you make them smart, but not too smart. The subject you just saw will be about as intelligent as a young adult, and yet as loyal as your own canine companion."

"You can guarantee this?"

Cortex stopped, and turned to his investor. "Have I ever lied to you before, Mr. Banks?"

The taller man grumbled incoherently, but something beyond Cortex caught his interest. It looked like a circular frame, large enough for someone to step through. It was attached to several large machines, all of them apparently activated. "What's this?" he inquired. Cortex twirled around, and raised his brow.

"Ah! This is something else we've put together in the lab several months ago. A friend of mine, Doctor Nefarious Tropy, had convinced me to aid him with his whimsical idea of time travel. Given that he had quite a pot of wealth, he was more than generous in supporting my own research, so I was quite delighted to assist him. However, when we aimed to create a temporary wormhole through a certain period of time, we failed. Tropy's theory at the time was only enough to create an inter-dimensional doorway."

"Meaning?" Banks groused with a scowl. Cortex sighed in exasperation.

"We did not create time travel. This portal leads to another dimension, a world unlike our own yet still managing to sustain life. We call it the 10th Dimension. One of my men traveled through to report what was on the other side. What he described sounded like a prehistoric era, but none of the creatures there matched any fossil records. There was supposedly a massive volcano just several kilometers away from the islands he was on. However, he did not survive. He was killed by one of the beasts, and we had to sever the connection. We haven't used it since."

"Why are the computers for it still active then?"

"Well," the scientist said, folding his arms and studying the portal, "Tropy warned me to never fully shut down the portal. He said it created an imbalance by sending a scout and leaving his body there, and if the tunnel linking our dimensions were to be cut, it could very well create a cataclysmic event that could destroy both. We simply shut the door on this end, to put it simply. Besides, should the need arise, it would be fairly easy to simply open it again, as it was quite strenuous creating the tunnel."

"All that work for a buncha crap, sounds like," Banks said, proceeding with the idle tour around the castle. After a period of silence, they were walking through a dark corridor when the investor spoke up again. "Why use bandicoots? I understand you've made approximately twenty Anthrians already? Most of them are bandicoots, I've heard."

"Bandicoots are a creature of abundance around here," Cortex answered solemnly. "Their DNA is the easiest to morph and work with, because they're quite similar to rats."

"So, do you name them? Or do they name themselves?"

"I've given the job of registering and naming the specimens to Brio. He quite seems to enjoy that work. Although, he names them as you would name a pet, and that can be rather…bothersome, at times."

After lunch, Mr. Fredrick Banks was already signing a check for Cortex. He puffed on another cigar, leaning back in his seat. They sat atop a terrace viewing the sunset over the ocean. He handed the slip of paper to Cortex, who seemed very pleased to see the figures on it. "Don't go spending it all in one place," he declared, pocketing his checkbook. The doctor did the same with the check. Banks placed both elbows on the table, folding his hands together. He stared Cortex in the eye. "I want to see one more transformation, before I go, if that's alright."

"That would be splendid, Mr. Banks," Cortex assured, standing and starting to lead his guest to the lab, where they were before. Brio had already tended to the previous subject, tagging and clothing him. He greeted Banks with a brief nod, and sat at the control desk for the Evolvo-Ray. There was a small cage sitting nearby, with a scampering creature inside. "Where is the last one?" Cortex inquired.

"H-he awoke s-sir. He didn't take kindly t-to the other doctors clothing him, a-and m-made quite a m-mess, yes."

"What did you name him?"

"C-Crash Bandicoot, s-sir, given the specific, er, talent y-you had programmed into his genetics…"

Cortex rolled his eyes. "Seems appropriate, I suppose. I'll speak with him later."

"I would like to join you," Banks said. "I want to see one of them talk."

"Yes, absolutely." Cortex squatted in front of the small cage, peering inside. He furrowed his brow. "Brio, is this the specimen I've been waiting for? The tests have all been successful?"

"Y-yes."

Cortex smiled, and picked up the cage. The bandicoot inside didn't seem fazed when the doctor observed it. "It's braver than I thought. This is good. It will prove to be an excellent servant."

"Servant?" Banks echoed.

"Yes, servant. You see, the bandicoot our recent subject derived from had been a litter mate of this one. Although, when tested, they didn't share the same parents, which was peculiar. This one has the most pliable DNA structure I've seen in an animal, however. I've made it a point to make good use of it. You see, I plan to add more human genomes to this one than the rest. I want him to be very smart, so I used samples of my own blood. He will be the only specimen to contain my DNA. He will also be the only one to use the wolf DNA we've obtained, straight from an alpha. He will be a glorious creature—of cunning mind and strength. I aim to use both him and this 'Crash' as… Well, perhaps I should save that for another time, Mr. Banks."

He opened the doors of the chamber once again, unlocked the gate of the cage, and shook the bandicoot into the Evolvo-Ray, quickly sealing the doors again. He signaled for Brio to start the transformation again, and the machine once again purred with life. The all-too familiar shrieking came from the chamber, but Banks simply looked on with interest. "Do they remember being so small?" he murmured. Cortex shook his head.

"No. Their newly developed brains wipe out the standard instincts of being a bandicoot. It would be impossible to remember the squalid lives they used to live. This one had a large scar on the left side of his stomach, most likely being from a dingo attack. This one, 'Crash,' and a female bandicoot were of the same group when we found them."

The machine continued to whir loudly, and the shrieks began to deepen again—yet, Banks noticed with a chill up his spine that it strayed more to a monstrous howl. He looked at Cortex for assurance, who was gazing at the chamber with pleasure. Brio deactivated the Evolvo-Ray and stared at Cortex for further instruction, but the latter said nothing. Two scientists paced over to the door of the chamber to open it, but suddenly the doors flew open and a blur of red burst from inside, bounding to Banks and pouncing on him. The shaken investor was met with sharp teeth and piercing amber eyes.

" _Where are they?! What have you done with them?!"_ it hissed in a hoarse, cracking voice. Cortex attempted to pull the animal from Banks, who was trying to stutter a confuse reply.

" _Get the tranquilizer!"_ the doctor shouted frantically.

"The last of it was used on the giant Tasmanian tiger!" a worker responded quickly, shuffling through drawers through the panic. "The shipment since then hasn't arrived yet!"

Cortex cursed, but then saw that the red beast was glaring at him now. It released Banks, who continued to lay on the floor in a dazed shock. He approached Cortex. "You…you're the one…" He doubled over in pain, clutching his stomach. "Why did you do this to me…? What's going on?" He stared at his hands, sharp black claws jutting from his fingertips. He glared at Cortex, who began to suspect with horror what the beast planned on doing with them. _"You'll pay for this!"_

" _Open the trans-dimensional gate!"_ Cortex yelled, and the workers scampered to do as told, swiftly placing themselves where they needed to be for the process. Cortex backed up against a pole, and the beast was snarling ferociously.

"Before I kill you," he grunted, still holding his abdomen and locking his hand around the collar of the doctor, "what's my name? I want it to be the last thing you say before I _rip_ your throat out."

Cortex narrowed his eyes at the Anthrian, sneering. "Your name was going to be Nega, but it's not going to do you any use where you're going." With that, two of the scientists jabbed electric rods into the back of him, causing a rippling yelp from the hybrid and collapsing him onto the ground. Cortex dusted himself off, and sighed. "From now on, it is mandatory we have tranquilizer at all times in here, to prevent accidents such as this." The workers grabbed the mutant under the arms and began to haul it to the now active portal; a swirling bright pink vortex that had a slight vacuum effect on the air of the room.

"Accident…?" he chuckled gruffly. "What you've done is no accident… and to think," Nega added, staring at the recovering investor he attacked, "you actually believe _I'm_ the monster."

"Are you sure you wish to throw the mutant into the portal?" one of them asked warily. Cortex nodded with a grimace.

"Mr. Banks' deal is more important than a potential servant. If anything, I'll create something more loyal to me. Toss the beast into the 10th Dimension."

"Yes, sir," they both murmured in unison. Nega gave a growl of surprise as they hurled him through the gate. Banks was helped up by a few more assistants that had just rushed in. He brushed off his suit, taking unpleasant note of a few tears caused by the assault. The portal shrunk, and eventually dissipated. Cortex turned to him, once again placing his hands behind his back.

"I do hope this incident hasn't swayed your opinion with the deal. Mistakes like this seldom occur as most subjects fall unconscious during the procedure or simply die. This is the first case I've had where the subject has remained awake, let alone be as active as such. It's a shame we had to lose him, but alas he proved himself to be savage. I imagine there will be no more like this in the future, however."

Banks swallowed, and nodded. "I suppose. Look, I think the work you've got going here is great and all, but I'd rather not be here to witness something catastrophic if things do go south. So, the sooner you can get me a boat or plane back to mainland, I can fly faster to the U.S. I'll write the second check you need there, and send over an executive with the money in cash—US dollars, of course."

Cortex smiled brightly. "Of course."

* * *

Hey guys! Thanks for reading the FIRST CHAPTER of this Crash Bandicoot fanfic! Yep, there will be more! Also, you may or may not recognize the name "Nega," so let me tell you. The account ChicFlick97 is my old account with plenty of other Crash Bandicoot stories in it, and they feature him as well. The stories are a couple years old, and I will no longer implement my OC Kate into the universe. This is something new I'm doing. I will admit that I abandoned the saga on my profile, sorry to those of you that were reading it. :( Although, I fully intend on riding with this for awhile, so stay tuned!

Anyway, reviews MUCH appreciated!


	2. Brewing Storm

**Wumpa Islands, 2003**

Nina Cortex began tapping her foot lightly against the metal floor, just loud enough that she could hear. Nearby sat Dingodile, idly snoozing while clutching his flamethrower affectionately. The pale teen crossed her arms, metal hands pressing coolly against her bare skin. "Uncle Cortex," she shouted, rousing Dingodile from his light slumber, "where are we going, anyway? You said you'd tell me when we got on the plane, and you haven't talked to me since."

The doctor, who was discussing things in a hushed whisper with the pilot, turned to his niece begrudgingly, his mouth twisted into a scowl. He had the unfortunate luxury of caring for her, as her mother and father were once again making business trips about the globe. They paid him handsomely for it, which he put directly towards his work, but the girl was quite a handful. "Nina, we're going to Australia."

"What?! That's all the way across the world! What're we going there for, anyway? To bug that orange rat you made?"

Dingodile snickered at Nina's remark, while Cortex seemed less than amused. His temples were already a stark shade of grey, and Nina was surely making the process quicken. "If you must know, I'm starting an excavation. We're going to clean up and search through the ruins of my old estate."

"That crummy place," Dingodile grumbled. "There's nothing but garbage down there, if ya ask me."

"No one asked," Cortex spat. "I've already managed to acquire some men to do the heavy work. They'll be expecting their pay soon," he muttered, turning back to the cockpit. If truth be told, Cortex lacked the money in order to pay the men he hired, so he was waiting for a loan under an alias to be approved. After the first accident caused by that putrid bandicoot, it was nearly impossible to get any sort of funding for his projects—although, most of said projects (that is to say, all) were dedicated to destroying Crash and achieving power.

However, the latest catastrophic event that the "great hero" successfully quelled was not a product of Cortex's. Nina's old academy, the Educational and Vocational Institute for Ladies (possessing the appropriate acronym, "E.V.I.L"), was attempting to create hydrogen bombs. The headmaster, Madame Amberly, an exceedingly obese woman with a very high forehead, hoped to start a war, honestly believing that the world was overpopulating and that the numbers should be dwindled. Although Cortex most certainly wouldn't have minded, he discovered one of the targets was Sydney, Australia, which was within range of what had been his new fortress. Saving himself the work, he warned Crash, gave him the equipment to handle the issue, and the bandicoot had the project destroyed in a matter of hours. As for Cortex's base, the Madame discovered Cortex's involvement and ordered brainwashed students to assault his fortress. In the end, she lost, and the students' parents were more than unhappy with the Madame's conduct. She was soon arrested on the mainland, Cortex was once again without a proper base of operation, and Crash returned happily to his island paradise.

The doctor was able to recover a percentage of his supplies, and thought it best to forage through the ruin of his beginnings. Surely, he believed, there was something valuable in the ruins of the castle… he just had to find it.

* * *

The late afternoon sunlight was pouring the foliage of palm trees onto the smooth white sand below. Unfortunately, a bright beam was situated just enough to shine down mercilessly onto Crash Bandicoot's face. He moaned incoherently, and placed a hand over his eyes, adjusting his latent position again.

"Crash!" a high-pitched voice called from his home, a small bungalow sitting at the edge of the forest near the beach. He sighed, agitated because he had just gotten comfortable again. Apparently all the forces of nature were hell-bent on preventing his well-earned nap. He glanced towards his house, and saw a very angry Coco approaching him, holding her laptop. As she got closer, he noticed water dripping from it. After she had gotten to him, she threw the device at him.

"Ow!" he yelped as it hit him square in the gut. "The hell was that for?!"

"You! When I asked you to put my laptop in my room, you set in next to the kitchen sink which was full of dishwater! And then you left the fridge wide open!"

Crash shoved the computer off of his lap, noticing small chunks of food and the slimy feel to it. "Perhaps sometime you'll learn that I'm not a very good delivery service," he retorted, trying his best not to smile. Coco was less than amused. She kicked his leg in with an angry shout, Crash cursing sharply, and she began to storm off.

"Now I have to order a new one! Thanks a lot, you good-for-nothing brother!"

Crash gasped and placed a hand over his heart dramatically. "Good-for-nothing! You wound me, dear sister, for it is your opinion I value most when I risk my own life to save this miserable mudball of a planet!" She made no indication that she had heard his sarcastic remark, leaving him to set the laptop aside onto the sand. He began to take a closer look at it. It was indeed quite wet. He brushed off a few pieces of food and began to scour for a power button, wanting to see if it would even turn on. Perhaps if he could get it to work, Coco would feel slightly guilty, and thus put him in a triumphant spotlight yet again. Although, all the buttons were foreign to him, and had him flipping it upside down and all around. "Where's the damn on-button?" Crash muttered.

"It's the one that has a circle with a line going through the top of it," he heard a gruff voice say. Crash turned to see Crunch hovering overhead, seeming to have been bored with whatever exercise he had been doing and coming to investigate the siblings' bantering. The smaller orange bandicoot glanced up at him and looked back down at the laptop, seeing it at the top corner. He pressed it, and miraculously, the screen flickered with life. He smiled.

"There, ya see? Nothing I can't handle."

Crunch raised an eyebrow, folding his arms. "You do realize what the screen is saying, don't you?" Upon further inspection, Crash read the jargon that the blue screen was telling him, and it didn't look very good. The larger bandicoot chuckled. "You sure screwed up this time, didn't you?"

"There's gotta be something I can do," Crash muttered.

"We all know that you and technology don't work well together, squirt. You're just gonna have to suffer the heat for awhile until Coco gets a new one."

Crash sighed. "Well, no skin off my nose. She'll be fine. Besides, she has that lab we built a couple years ago, and there are plenty of computers in there."

"That one was her favorite," Crunch said, taking the laptop from Crash and examining it, narrowing his eyes. "Let's see here… Maybe Aku-Aku can fix it by removing the water from it or something." He chucked it back onto Crash, who was displeased to have it thrown at him a second time. "Your problem, muskrat."

"Thanks for the help, ya brute," Crash exhaled with a grumble. He glossed over the laptop once more before setting it to the side, and deciding that taking a nap would be the best option before going to Aku-Aku for advice. Besides, she could survive without it for now, until he thought of something.


	3. New Body, New Home

**Twinsanity Island, Tenth Dimension  
1996**

He groaned. His muscles still felt like jell-o, and his head was spinning. Nega Bandicoot slowly opened his eyes to meet the pink sky above him, deep red clouds hanging droopily through the atmosphere. He sat up, sand shifting beneath him, and he got a good look of his surroundings. He sat on the beach of an island, a dense forest of tropical vegetation behind him. The ocean took on a dark crimson color, like blood, which caused him to look down at his hands of the same color.

Hands.

Nega was instantly filled with disgust and resentment. "Cortex," he growled. He got to his feet, scouring the landscape for a portal. There wasn't one to be found. He cursed loudly, yelling and howling and letting his anger release into the air. He felt tears line his eyes. "I didn't ask for this!" he shouted, knees buckling and elbows falling to the ground as he hung his head and clenched his fists.

What _was_ he now? He observed his hands again, repulsion filling his stomach as he realized how human they were. The only differences were the claws and the fur. Nega glanced backward, seeing a fluffy red and cream colored tail tracing the side of his thigh limply. It certainly wasn't a bandicoot tail, he realized with shock. Visions plagued his mind—the life he once lived as a bandicoot, and darker, more sinister memories he knew he shouldn't have. He could feel it, predatory blood coursing through his veins. It felt so wrong, having vague scenes of killing small animals like he once was, and even more wrong having an urge to do so now. Although his stomach rumbled, food was the last thing on his mind. He peered down towards his legs, eyes widening.

He was naked.

He swore yet again as he scrambled about, thinking of ways he could cover himself. Human genitalia was so ugly to look at, he thought, no wonder they wore clothes. He heard a shriek come from the jungle, and he froze. There were other creatures here, wherever this was. He tried thinking back to what had happened at the lab. Cortex had said that he had been thrown through a trans-dimensional gate, so he must be in an entirely new dimension. He warily started trekking through the forest, eyes peeled for anything that might seem like a threat.

Eventually, after a small period of walking and the beach was just barely in sight, he noticed something up ahead underneath a fallen mossy tree. Nega walked towards it, yet stopped in his tracks when he saw what it was. There lay a human skeleton, entirely intact, with supplies scattered in a ditch around it. He stooped down, examining the carcass. The flesh had been entirely picked away, and the bones didn't seem that old. He absently wondered what caused the death of this person. His eyes caught sight of the backpack nearby, a solid shade of bright tan. He began to rummage through it.

He found a pair of new jeans, a canteen, a knife, instructional papers, a package of cigarettes and a lighter. Amazement dawned upon Nega as he realized that he knew the items he found by name, even though he'd never seen them before now. He knew how to use them. He looked at the papers and understood the letters on it, the words and everything that it was saying. How? He scratched his head, wondering what kind of brain it was that rested in between his ears—was it a human brain? Or simply a modified hybrid of all the brains of the species he now shared genes with?

Deciding to save intellectual prospecting for a later time in favor of building a shelter as soon as possible, Nega sprang to his feet and slipped his legs through the trousers—yet it was terribly uncomfortable for his tail, so he took the knife and carved a small sliver so it could slide through and rest idly while he decided what he should do next. He took a step back and observed his surroundings, and decided that for now this could be a decent place to set up shelter. There was a log hanging over a deep ditch. Inside, he noticed, were some more items, but nothing of importance he came to discover—simply some burlap sheets that most likely had come with the deceased human.

He read through the papers, which seemed to be notes the man had taken on the place. He detailed the reddish sky, the ferocious appearance of the forest and some of the wildlife and several other things. Nega saw that there was no name inscribed on the paper, only the notes. He gazed upon the skeleton again. "What are they gonna put on ya tombstone if you can't write'cha name on 'ere?" he chuckled. "Don't worry mate, I'll thinka somethin'." As the words rolled off his tongue, he wondered where his accent had come from—Cortex certainly didn't possess a thick Australian accent, although several of his lab workers did. Perhaps, Nega thought, he'd picked it up from one of them while they were prodding him with needles.

He observed the backpack, a large text over the one of the zip pouches saying boldly, "ROGER: Durable Hiking Gear." Nega wrinkled his nose thoughtfully. "Roger it is then," he said to the skeleton. He took up the burlap sheets and began fastening them to the log by stabbing the material through some of the jutting splinters of bark. "Y'know Roger, no matter how mucha cruddy human I'm sure ya were, you're much better off now, really. Better than bein' one-a those hairless monsters."

Of course, Roger did not talk back to him, even though something deep inside Nega wanted him to. He glanced back at the skeleton over his shoulder, eyes tainted with emptiness. He was alone here, not one living creature he could talk to. He began to wonder if he regretted his decision of attacking that redundant man and Cortex. If he hadn't, perhaps things would have gone differently, and he'd have others to talk to, even the little bandicoots he had grown up with. Undoubtedly, they suffered the same transformative fate as he, and they were still inside that wretched castle. He wished so badly to go back and release the lot of them, but what's done is done, and he finished tidying up the area with a disheartened sigh.

"Looks to be a long while, Roger," he mumbled. He gazed up at the sky through the thick trees and took in the deep, unchanging shade of light red. He sat upon a stone next to the skeleton. "Looks to be a long while. Betta make a fire."


End file.
